Blade dispenser



April 5, 1966 B. RAYBIN 3,244,317

BLADE DISPENSER Filed Oct. 26, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet l B. RAYBIN BLADE DISPENSER April 5, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 26, 1962 B. RAYBI N BLADE DISPENSER April 5, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 26, 1962 United States Patent Ofilice 3,244,317 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 3,244,317 BLADE DISPENSER Benjamin Rayhin, Staunton, Va., assignor to Philip Morris Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Virginia Filed Oct. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 233,284 10 Claims. (Cl. 221-41) This invention relates generally to blade dispensers and has particular reference to a dispenser for surgical blades.

Technique heretofore commonly employed requires the surgeon or nurse to fit surgical blades into the handle of a blade holder by means of forcep or by holding the blade itself. These methods are hazardous, as the handle or blade may slip and severe laceration result therefrom. This invention avoids direct handling of the sharp surgical blade during attachment to the blade holder thereby protecting the surgeon or nurse from possible injury. In addi tion the danger of damage to the sharp edge of the blade is eliminated due to the protection afforded by the blade casing. Also the blade may be ejected to a point where it is in position to be engaged by a blade holder with the use of one hand only in the same manner as a hypodermic syringe is operated, a technique familiar to all medical personnel.

The major objects of this invention are to provide a container to hold and protect the sharp edge of the blades from damage and to afford a rapid, safe and convenient means of handling and dispensing blades directly to a blade holder. The dispenser and blades may be made sterile by inserting the entire dispenser containing the blades into any acceptable sterilization medium such as an autoclave. Or the blades may be sterilized separately and placed in a sterilized dispenser which in turn may be wrapped in a sealed package to retain sterility and unused blades in the dispenser may be resterilized as described above. The blade loaded dispenser prevents sharp points on the blades from puncturing sterile protective wrappers, eliminates mixing of used and unused blades and is especially rapid and convenient in surgical emergencies.

The dispenser embodies features whereby the blade may be advanced by a pusher to an exposed position through operation of one hand in the manner of a hypodermic syringe whereby a blade holder may be applied with the other hand and lid onto the blade into locked position, the blade being firmly held in the exposed advanced position to resist the pressure needed to engage the tang of the holder. The dispenser also preferably includes supporting guide means for the blade holder tang enabling its application to the blade and the assembling operation to be accomplished quickly and accurately and without the need of close attention to the operation.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings illustrating embodiments of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the blade dispenser held in the users hand before a blade has been ejected;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the blade dispenser held in the users hand with a blade in its advanced position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a blade holder in a position just before it is inserted into the dispenser to pick up a blade;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the dispenser in one hand and the blade holder in the other hand of the user with the blade holder tang inserted into the dispenser and blade aperture;

FIG. 5 shows the blade attached to the blade holder after the blade has been withdrawn from the dispenser;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the dispenser with a'blade in its advanced position;

. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the dispenser taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the ejection end of the dispenser with the tang of a blade holder partially inserted into the blade aperture;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the ejection end of the dispenser with the tang of a blade holder partially in serted into the blade aperture as shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a surgical blade of the type for which the dispenser is particularly adapted;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a dispenser illustrating another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the dispenser shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the ejection and of the dispenser shown in FIG. 12 with a surgical blade and the pusher in a partially advanced position; and

FIG. 14 is a top plan view of a dispenser similar to that of FIG. 11 with part of the top wall broken away showing a modification of the blade positioning member.

There is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 9 a surgical blade dispenser designated as a whole by reference numeral 1, a dispenser housing or casing 2 which may be a thermoplastic. material such as polypropylene or polyethylene and a manually operated blade ejector .or blade pusher 3 for advancing blades from the casing 2. The casing 2 contains a U-shaped frame member or blade magazine 4 which may be made of metal and has posts 5 and 6 for holding a stack of surgical blades 7 in position in the casing 2, the blades in the present illustrative embodiment of the invention being of the type and shape shown in plan in FIG. 10. The rear end of the casing 2 has an opening for the insertion of the magazine 4 with a suitable closure. The character of the closure may be varied but an advantageous form is shown particularly in FIG. 7 in which the closure 2a is cast integral with the casing 2 with a reduced area 2b serving as a hinge line. A suitable catch is provided such as a lug 20 formed on the closure 2a adapted to releasably engage in a depression in the inner face of the casing wall. The casing being formed of an appropriate plastic material such as polypropylene, the hinge may be flexed repeatedly without breakage. If preferred it may be held permanently closed by heat ealmg.

The post 5 is supported by an upwardly raised portion 8 defined by suitable cuts in the frame member 4 which permits the post 5 to be pressed downwardly as the nub or finger 9 of the pusher 3 passes over it, thus releasing the top blade from the stack of blades for ejection by the pusher 3. After the nub 9 has passed over the post 5 the post returns to the original position by the spring action of raised portion 8 thereby retaining in position the remaining blades in the stack. Spring 10 presses the stack of blades toward the top of the casing 2 urging the blades against the pusher 3 so that the blades will be in position to be ejected by nub 9. The position of spring 10 when a greater number of blades is present is shown in broken lines at 10' in FIG. 6. The U-shaped frame member 4 has a slot 11 at the back end for passage of the pusher 3, and a slot 12 at the ejection end for passage of the pusher and a blade. The casing 2 has an integral extension 13 for supporting a blade between the pusher 3 and the upwardly and outwardly inclined ramp surface 14 of the extension 13. This produces a clamping or wedging action of the blade pusher 3 against the ramp wedging surface 14 holding the blade securely in the advanced flexed position as shown particularly in FIGS. 6 and 8 keeping the nub 9 fully engaged against the blade so that a standard blade holder 15 with its tang 16 may be inserted into the receiving aperture 17 of the blade. The tang 16 has a slot 16a open at its outer end and as the tang 16 is inserted up through the aperture 17 and pushed forward the flanges 18 (FIG. in the blade aperture are slid into the slot 16a. The blade is retained securely because some pressure must be exerted to insert the tang 16 into the aperture 17 and engage the slot 16a over the flanges 18 as the blade is further bent in the process. This pressure is resisted by finger pressure on the pusher 3, or by engagement of the rear end of the blade against post 5.

The pusher 3 has a longitudinal aperture 19 at its center portion so that the tang 16 may extendupwardly 'thereinto and be free to fit in the blade aperture 17 of the blade which lies fiat against the bottom surface of the pusher 3 when said blade is in the fully advanced position as shown in FIG. 6. Also the pusher 3 has a generally rectangularly shaped aperture 20 which allows the blade end 21 to move into this space due to the bending of the blade which occurs when the tang 16 is inserted into the aperture 17 of the blade.

The dispenser is operated by moving the pusher 3 from the pre-ejection position shown in FIG. 1 to the fully advanced position as shown for example in FIGS. 6 and 9. The nub 9 of the pusher picks up a blade after depressing post 5 and moves it to the fully advanced partially ejected position where the blade is then in position to receive the tang 16 of the blade holder 15. As the tang 16 is pressed into the aperture 17 of the blade, the aperture 19 of the pusher 3 allows the tang 16 to pass freely into the entire length of the aperture 17 and the slot 16a to engage over the flange portions 18. The forward movement of the tang 16 continues until the rear end shoulder 16b (FIG. 8) on the upper area of tang 15 passes the outer end 17a of the slot 17 whereupon the bent end 21 of the blade snaps down into flat condition with the upper projecting area of tang 16 occupying the slot 17 as shown in FIG. 5. Also the rear beveled end 7a of the blade occupies a position adjacent the correspondingly shaped shoulder 15a on the blade holder. The blade holder may now be pulled away with the blade held securely by the tang 16 as shown in FIG. 5. After the blade has been used it may be removed from the blade holder 15 by pushing on the button 22 which causes the inner end thereof to engage the end of the blade 21 and raise it above the shoulder 16b of the tang so that the blade may then be freely pulled from the blade holder 15.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 the dispenser may be operated with one hand by means of grasping the dispenser finger grips 23 with two fingers and pressing the pusher 3 with the thumb in the same manner that a hypodermic syringe is operated. After the dispenser has been operated as described above, the blade holder may be taken in the other hand and inserted into dispenser 1 and blade aperture 17 and then removed with a blade attached as heretofore described and illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5. In this connection it is noted that the extension ramp 13 has a tang nest or groove 24 which acts as a guide for the tang 16 as it is being inserted into the blade aperture 17. The procedure, whereby only one hand is needed to eject a blade, leaves the other hand free to insert a blade holder 15 into the dispenser 1 to pick up a new blade without having to touch the new blade with the fingers. If desired the dispenser may embody suitable spring means for automatically moving the pusher 3 to its rearward position. Pusher plate 3 has a lug 3a at each edge lanced from the plate and turned upwardly adapted to engage against the rear arm portion of the U-shaped member 4 to limit the rearward movement of the pusher.

In FIGS. 11 to 14- another embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of a dispenser 24 generally similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 but with certain modifications described below. The dispenser 24 has a casing 24a which may be made of metal or plastic and a blade pusher 25 which may also be made of metal or plastic that has a nub 26 and a longitudinal aperture 27. The casing 24a is adapted to enclose a stack of blades 28 which is biased by a spring 28a toward the pusher 25 at the top of the inside of the casing 24a. The stack of blades 28, of the type shown in FIG. 10, is held in position by a post 29 which passes through the apertures 17 of the blades. The post 29 is supported by a flexible section 29a defined by cuts in the bottom portion of the casing 24a similar to cut out portion 8 shown in FIG. 6. The casing 24a has rear slot 36 for passage of the pusher 25 and front opening 31 for passage of the pusher and a blade. The casing 24a has a front end wall 32 with an inclined or wedging top portion 33.

The dispenser 24 is operated in a similar manner to dispenser 1 described above and has finger grips 34 so that the dispenser 24 may also be used in a manner similar to a hypodermic syringe. The dispenser 2d ejects a lade when the pusher is forwardly advanced by pressure through the position shown in FIG. 12 to that shown in FIG. 13. In the retracted position of the pusher the nub 26 is positioned rearwardly of post 29 and the upper end of the post extends into the aperture 17 of the top blade. As the pusher 3 is moved forward the nub 26 will engage the aperture 17 of the top blade and depress post 29 as the nub passes over it as shown in FIG. 12 and move the blade to its advanced position as shown in FIG. 13. As the blade passes over end wall 32 the in clined top portion 33 wedges the blade against the pusher 25 so that nub 26 stays securely engaged in blade aper ture 17. The tang 16 of a blade holder 15 may now be inserted into the blade aperture in the same manner as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and described above.

In FIG. 14 a modification of the means for positioning the stack of razor blades is shown in the form of a cutout section 35 lanced from the side of the casing 24a and bent inwardly. When this means is employed post 29 may be omitted. The cut-out section 35 holds the stack of blades 28 against the side 36 of the casing 24a so that the blades will be in position to be ejected by pusher 25. The top edge of the bent flange piece 35 is on a level with the bottom face of the top blade so that the blade is free to be moved out by the pusher but the next lower blade is restrained from advance.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A blade dispenser for dispensing blades of a type having an aperture adapted to receive the tang of a blade holder, comprising, a casing, means for supporting a stack of blades therein, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in the casing adjacent the top blade of the stack, said member having an element for engaging and moving the said top blade to an advanced partially ejected position and having an opening for receiving the tang of a blade holder, and an inclined supporting ramp rigid with said housing arranged to flex the blade into firm engagement with said member in said advanced position of the blade, said opening being of a size and position to enable the tang of the blade holder to extend through the blade aperture and into the opening in said rriember in the operation of attaching the holder to the b ade.

2. A blade dispenser comprising a casing with means for supporting a stack of blades therein, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in said casing and having a finger portion movable therewith projecting from one end of said casing, and a pair of finger grip members fixed to said casing and projecting laterally therefrom in direc tions opposite to each other with one at each side of said ejecting slide finger portion whereby the dispenser may be held and a blade advanced by one hand of the user.

3. A blade dispenser comprising a casing with means for supporting a stack of blades therein, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in said casing and having a finger portion projecting from one end of said casing, said ejecting member having means for engaging in its forward movement one of said blades and moving it to an advanced partially ejected position extending from said casing, finger grip means fixed to said casing adjacent said finger portion and projecting laterally therefrom whereby the dispenser may be held and a blade advanced by one hand of the user, and support means carried by said housing at its end opposite to said finger portion arranged to hold the blade in its advanced position while being engaged by a blade holder, said means for engaging the blade serving while the ejecting member is held in forward position to prevent return of the blade while being engaged by the blade holder.

4. A blade dispenser comprising a casing with means for supporting a stack of blades therein, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in said casing and having a finger portion projecting from one end of said casing, said ejecting member having a blade engaging element and an elongated aperture for the reception of a blade holder tang, said member in its forward movement being efiective to move one of the blades to an advanced partially ejected position extending from said casing, finger grip means fixed to said casing adjacent said finger portion whereby the dispenser may be held and a blade advanced by one hand of the user, and support means carried by said housing at its end opposite to said finger portion arranged to hold the blade in its advanced position while the blade holder tang is inserted and the blade secured on the handle for withdrawal from the dispenser.

5. A blade dispenser adapted to position a blade for engagement with a blade holder comprising an elongated housing having opposed finger grip members on one end shaped like a hypodermic syringe, a blade ejecting member having a finger engageable portion positioned between said finger grip members and a blade pick up nub and an elongated aperture for the passage thereinto of a blade holder tang when the ejecting member is in its forward advanced position, a positioning member in said casing to retain a stack of blades therein, a spring in said casing to bias said stack of blades toward said blade ejecting member, and an inclined support carried by said casing at the end opposite to said finger grip members adapted flexibly to clamp a blade against said member when moved thereby into an advanced partially ejected position for the application of the blade holder.

6. A blade dispenser adapted to position a surgical blade for engagement with a surgical blade holder comprising a rectangular elongated casing having two opposed finger grip members on one end shaped like a hypodermic syringe and a blade wedging member on the other end thereof, said finger grips and said wedging member formed as part of the casing, a blade ejecting member having a finger engageable portion positioned between said finger grip members and a downwardly projecting blade pick up nub and an elongated aperture for passage of a blade holder tang adjacent said nub, said aperture being positioned for the reception of the tang when the blade ejecting member is in the forward blade ejecting position, a positioning member in said casing to retain a stack of blades therein, and a spring in said casing to bias said stack of blades toward said blade ejecting member.

7. A blade dispenser for dispensing blades of a type having an aperture to receive a holder part, a casing having sides and a bottom part, means for supporting a stack of blades in said casing including a post having a flexible mounting in said bottom part and extending up through the apertures in the stack of blades, and a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in said casing having an element for engaging and moving the top blade to an advanced partially ejected position, said post being deflected in the movement to free the top blade.

8. A blade dispenser for dispensing blades of a type having an aperture to receive a blade holder part, a casing having sides and a bottom part, means for supporting a stack of blades in said casing including a post having a flexible mounting in said bottom part and extending up through the apertures in the stack of blades, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in the casing having an element for engaging and moving the top blade to an advanced partially ejected position said post being deflected in the movement to free the top blade, spring means for urging the stack of blades upwardly toward said ejecting member, and supporting means for maintaining the blade in its advanced position against said ejecting member while being engaged by the blade holder part.

9. A blade dispenser comprising a casing of plastic material provided with means for supporting a stack of blades therein, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in said casing and having a finger portion projecting from one end of said casing, a pair of finger grip members fixed to said casing one at each side of said ejecting member finger portion whereby the dispenser may be held and a blade advanced by one hand of the user, said casing having an opening between said finger grip members, for the insertion of a stack of blades, and a closure part for said latter opening formed integral with said casing with a hinge line of reduced thickness to permit repeated flexing at the hinge for opening and closing of the closure.

10. A blade dispenser comprising a casing with means for supporting a stack of blades therein, a blade ejecting member slidably mounted in said casing and having a finger portion projecting from one end of said casing, said ejecting member having means for engaging in its forward movement one of said blades and moving it to an advanced partially ejected position extending from said casing, said ejecting member having a finger portion movable therewith projecting from the rear end of said casing, and a pair of finger grip members fixed to said casing and projecting laterally therefrom in directions opposite to each other one at each side of said finger portion whereby the dispenser may be held and a blade advanced by one hand of the user.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,200,752 5/1940 Kuhnl 22l232 2,310,180 4/1943 Kuhnl 22l232 2,601,852 5/1952 Wendt 22l279 X 2,611,478 9/1952 Gray 221-36 2,613,806 10/1952 Testi 221-36 2,621,655 12/1952 Olson 22l232 X 2,686,967 8/1954 Landwehr 22l232 X 3,016,895 1/1962 Sein 128-217 FOREIGN PATENTS 471,046 1/1951 Canada.

LOUIS J. DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiner. 

2. A BLADE DISPENSER COMPRISING A CASING WITH MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A STACK OF BLADES THEREIN, A BLADE EJECTING MEMBER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CASING AND HAVING A FINGER PORTION MOVABLE THEREWITH PROJECTING FROM ONE END OF SAID CASING, AND A PAIR OF FINGER GRIP MEMBERS FIXED TO SAID CASING AND PROJECTING LATERALLY THEREFOM IN DIRECTIONS OPPOSITE TO EACH OTHER WITH ONE AT EACH SIDE OF SAID EJECTING SLIDE FINGER PORTION WHEREBY THE DISPENSER MAY BE HELD AND A BLADE ADVANCED BY ONE HAND OF THE USER. 